By Lourdes Ledesma
In 1990, President Corazon C. Aquino signed Republic Act No. 6969, also known as the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990. This Act covers the importation, manufacture, processing, handling, storage, transportation, sale, distribution, use and disposal of all unregulated chemical substances and mixtures in the Philippines, including the entry even in transit.
Even with the regulations in place, hazardous wastes (batteries, electronic junk, chemicals, paints, pesticides, etc.) are not adequately treated and are either illegally thrown in waterways or open dumps. According to a study by USAid on e-waste recycling and disposal in Asian countries, in the Philippines, almost one-half of the 400 rivers in the country are characterized as biologically dead due to contamination from industrial and residential run-off and inadequate sewerage and drainage infrastructure. In addition, the lack of a central hazardous waste treatment facility is a major obstacle to properly disposing of toxic and hazardous waste.
The electronics industry in the Philippines plays a major role in the economic development of the country. It has consistently contributed the highest export revenues since 1981. It has also promoted the rapid computerization of practically all the corporate offices in Metro Manila as well as most government agencies. Because of the nature of the growing information technology, rapid obsolescence of hardware has also contributed to the build-up of e-junk in the country. Most of this e-waste end up in open dumps and waterways, where they contribute to the pollution of the environment. TV sets, mobile phones and computers contain a lot of lead and other toxic metals, and when dumped anywhere, pollute the environment enough to affect the health of humans adversely.
For decades, developing countries in Asia and Africa have been used as a dumping ground for the toxic wastes from industrialized countries in Europe and North America. In an earlier article, I related the story of a particular town in China, called Guiyu, where the U.S., Canada, Germany and other developed nations send their e-waste to be recycled and processed by the most primitive methods by Chinese families for a daily pittance. Needless to say, the town inhabitants suffer from diseases arising from undrinkable water, unbreathable air, and toxic metals poisoning. A study of hazardous waste trade traffic showed that the Philippines, India, and Thailand have been destinations of toxic wastes dumping from industrialized countries. In December, 1999, Philippine authorities seized 122 forty-foot containers carrying infectious medical wastes from Japan. The cargo was disguised as used plastic scrap for recycling. Following a public outcry, the containers were shipped back to Japan. Subsequent investigations in Japan showed that this was a customary practice, only not known to the public. Australia before 1997 was the top exporter of scrap lead batteries to the Philippines. Lead wastes from Australia, the Netherlands and the U.S. have regularly entered Asia from the Philippines, Thailand and India. In the Philippines, a leading importer and recycler, Philippine Recyclers Inc. (PRI), was found to have serious lead contamination in the soil, vegetation, and river sediments around its factory area. It had been caught illegally dumping the toxic wastes from its factory in several open dumpsites near agricultural fields. Lead contamination was found in tests conducted by Greenpeace and health experts in the blood of children living near PRI.
Now, because of one man’s determination to address this greatest danger to our environment, the expansion of the only privately-owned integrated hazardous waste treatment facility in the Philippines was launched last April 20th, 2009 in Silang, Cavite. In a 1.4 ha. lot, Herminio Esguerra, CEO of Cleanway Technology Corporation (CTC) and the Herma Group of Companies, started, against great opposition from the local and business community, to build a secure landfill in September of 2004. He wanted to prove that saving the environment and making a profit are both viable and sustainable. Four years after Cleanway’s integrated waste-treatment facility started its business operations, it has become the Philippines’ leading integrated environmental management company that uses the most advanced technology for waste treatment and disposal. This year’s launching of a state-of-the-art expanded and integrated facility for treatment of different kinds of hazardous waste, also marked the closure of its first secure landfill and the groundbreaking of a second larger-capacity secure landfill. The company currently addresses the waste-management problems of more than 100 big companies including car manufacturers and dealers, hospitals and various industries.
Employing the latest technology and processes, Esguerra’s hazardous toxic waste facilities are in compliance with local and international environmental laws. They handle industrial, chemical, and medical wastes, treat it until no longer toxic to humans and the environment, then dump it into the secure landfill. The “secure” landfill is the highest type of landfill which complies with R.A. 9003. It is a cavity in the earth, double-lined with geomembrane and geotextiles, a material composed of reinforced fiber and wires designed to last for years. While not yet sealed, the secure landfill is designed with a drainage system for leachates that are channeled to a treatment chamber until it is stabilized and can be returned to the environment safely. At the end of this process is a fishpond where live marine animals swim freely.
What Esguerra has done for his community has been to raise awareness that an efficient disposal system of toxic wastes can be achieved, to create a cleaner world, while generating employment and boosting the local economy. The community has fully embraced the CTC facility, and Esguerra has given back to his community scholarships to deserving students, adopting schools and sponsoring other ourtreach programs such as medical missions. Already there are plans to expand these facilities to other sites, such as Cebu. As Esguerra comments, “Do business with the environment `correctly’ and for sure, profit will be the by-product. We owe it to the next generation. This is our legacy. This is not only for Cleanway and the Herma Group, but this is for all.”
What Esguerra has shown us is that if we care enough, a vision can become a reality. Do we care enough?*
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